I can tell you with great certainty - our coach hates losing with a passion. He does not tolerate excuses. Give him the players he needs then look out!

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

Honestly didn't expect it for a second. He has kicked 24.14 for the season which is great. He's more reliable than great players like Simpson (3.3) and Kruzer (9.10). Even a ripper like Gibbs who gets plenty of set shots for a midfielder has a poor conversion rate (14.10) so nah I didn't expect the big fella to miss it. Feel sorry for him as it takes the shine of a good effort from him again and a great first quarter set shot.

We showed in the first quarter what people like Bolt and Charlie can do if we move the ball quickly and cleanly but our disposals through the middle didn't give our forwards much of chance for big patches. Charlie and Bolt had to go up the ground to make the play and move the ball forward for people like Wright to capitalise on.

as things stand, almost our entire midfield ( Cripps) went off early in the 2nd just to even things up.
i think everyone realises we need to build depth in this area

Hawks did that with franklin and Roughead, Demons had hogan, and at a pinch McDonald, we have no one that resembles a dominant key forward....Charlie looks a treat, but only in support, not the main man!

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Blue blood is running through these veins!!! Go Blueys!!!

No one willing to put in the tough work in the midfield in the absence of Cripps.

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

This is our reality. Pointing out we have a way to go. Competitive week in week out is a non negotiable. List lacks deep talent hence why the losses.

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For some silly reason, you people want to assassinate him, and it's just rubbish. You people. All of you, ALL of you!

Amazed at how much we missed Cripps.

For a first game defender in Young to be able to play as loose as he did was annoying to watch.

I agree that, the Port game aside, this was our worst game for the year.

Plowman played well.

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We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.

Not sure if you're serious! Gibbs and Murphy were still there, as was Kreuzberg. If they aren't considered genuinely high quality AFL midfielders, then we are worse off than i thought!

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Blue blood is running through these veins!!! Go Blueys!!!

When we make a mistake Bolts swears his head off, walks off out of the box and today smashed his hand down on the desk. He hates mistakes from players he expects more of. He hates poor decisions from players he knows can make better ones.

The odd bit of anger on here immediately after a game is the same type of frustration which is fine. But I do understand why other posters want to keep it positive and level headed on here. A bunch of negative posts just adds to the downer of a loss. Today's posts have been mostly balanced however.

I said almost ..they all had pretty good games from memory but Cripps being off was quite defining in the end. anyway, this is the WBD game thread.

Just back from the game

Got what I expected with the cattle we had on the park

Cripps a massive out

Not all doom and gloom. Charlie is going to be a ripper

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Cheats never prosper (except in the AFL)

Maybe we just play him until the end of the year, you know, let him build some confidence... adjust to the pace?

If getting the players he needs is what it takes to not only win a flag, but to also make finals etc, then I'd suggest you get comfortable waiting because as things stand, free agents won't be lining up to join us, it's going to be a long wait!

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Blue blood is running through these veins!!! Go Blueys!!!

Couldn't say Murph had a good game though.

27 possessions.
63% efficiency.
1 clearance.

Hardly the leading performance you'd hope for with Cripps out.

Thought Gibbs was good. 32, 75% and 8.

They weren't winning with them or kicking scores though in the early stages were they? Curnow is a good player now, McKay and Kerr will be good players but need time.

Pros
-we kept trying
-we were able to keep within striking distance of them
-the first quarter
-we created some exciting rebound opportunities (then butchered them)
-Gibbs
-Kreuzer
-Wright
-C.curnow
-Jones

Cons
-absolutely butchered everything
- no positioning or cohesion
-short kicking and handball skills got found out under a bit of pressure
-couldn't figure out where to kick to in the 50(or curnow wasn't going where he was meant to?)
- kick ins were woeful
-poor shepherding
-Sumner unable to impact
-SpS doesn't have the confidence or awareness to take the game on
-unable to capitalise on good work at bounces
-Buckley's injury means he might have run out of opportunities
-Graham's and Kerridge's shortcomings really get shown up when our depth is so stretched
-at no stage was there any visible signs that the team was fired up and had the desire or belief to cause an upset

No quick fixes via big name free agents. The last two drafts have delivered well. Back to the draft and then maybe a bit of cream via free agency. Another bunch of kids like SPS, Charlie, Cunningham, Fisher, Williamson, etc. and we will keep moving forward.

Flying back from overseas right now and just hooked up to internet.

Predictable result given outs we had.

So, did Doch spend more time in the middle in the absence of Crippa?

Can't wait to see Willo back.

Also, I have no idea what the plan for weitering was today....

It just seems as though the easier the shot should be, the more important the moment, the more likely Bolt will miss.